In a conventional radio paging system a central paging controller typically has performed queuing, dequeuing, and encoding of each page into a "batch" of pages. In such a system, page transmission verification statistics, e.g., page identification and time of transmission of the page or page batch, have been recorded by the central paging controller at the time the central paging controller encoded the page batch. This method of recording the verification statistics has proven reliable in the conventional paging system, because other components of the paging system, such as a transmitter system controller and radio transmitters, have not manipulated the page batch, except for transmitting the page batch as received from the central paging controller.
Next generation, high data rate radio paging systems will relocate the queuing, dequeuing, and encoding of each page batch away from the central paging controller and into the transmitter system controller and base stations. Such remote manipulation of paging data introduces delay and transmission uncertainty, thereby rendering it no longer possible to rely upon the time of transmission of paging data from the central paging controller for recording the page transmission verification statistics. Still, it is highly desirable to be able to maintain such statistics accurately at a central location, such as a network management center, for later retrieval in verifying paging system performance.
Thus, what is needed is a way of reliably obtaining page transmission verification statistics at a central location. Preferably, the statistics will be based upon the actual time of transmission of the page or page batch from the base stations. It is also highly desirable for the verification statistics to be capable of including diagnostic and status information pertaining to base site equipment for verifying functionality of the base site equipment at the time of transmission of a page or page batch.